Effect of supplemental diets based on Ficusnatalensis and Harrisoniaabyssinica on the meat quality of tethered indigenous goat meat

Abstract

This study evaluated the effect of supplementing pasture diets with Ficus natalensis and Harrisonia abyssinica foliage on chemical composition and meat quality of tethered indigenous goats. Forty growing intact male goats were assigned to one of five treatment diets: (i) tethering alone (control (C)), (ii) tethering plus molasses (CM), (iii) tethering plus Harrisonia abyssinica leaves with molasses (HM), (iv) tethering plus Ficus natalensis leaves with molasses (FM) and (v) tethering plus Ficus natalensis and Harrisonia abyssinica with molasses (FHM). At the end of the feeding trial, goats were slaughtered and samples of the Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle and subcutaneous fat were collected for chemical and fatty acid analysis. Diet did not affect cooking loss or shear force values (P > 0.05). Cooking loss ranged between 10.88% (lowest in CM) to18.93% (highest in FM), while shear force ranged from 21.16 N (lowest in CM) to 32.49 N (highest in FM). Protein content varied from 18.2% (lowest in HM) to 21.12% (highest in FHM), and crude lipid content ranged between 0.33 and 5.95%. Fat content and fatty acid composition, total SFA, total MUFA, total PUFA, n3,n6, PUFA:SFA ratio and n6/n3 ratio were also not affected (P > 0.05) by diet. The muscle fatty acid (FA) profile was dominated by oleic (1.472–3.097 mg/g), followed by Palmitic acid (1.229–2.079 mg/g) and stearic acid (1.125–2.066 mg/g). The total SFA ranged between 2.474 mg/g and 4.261 mg/g and total MUFA ranged between 1.641 and 3.451 mg/g. The PUFA:SFA ratio varied from 0.337 (FM) and 0.535 (FHM), the n6/n3 ratio ranged between 1.107 and 4.035. Supplementing tethered indigenous goats with F. natalensis and H. abyssinica did not significantly affect meat quality attributes, but all diets produced lean, tender, and nutritionally healthy meat, highlighting the potential of native browse species to enhance goat meat quality in low-input silvopastoral systems.